histopathological effects of intramuscular metamizole sodium on rat sciatic nerve

objective(s): we investigated the histopathological effects of metamizole sodium (ms) on the sciatic nerve.  materials and methods: this study was performed using 48 adult male wistar albino rats. ten groups were constituted with 6 rats in each group. ms injection into the sciatic nerve (group 1), ms injection into the muscle [group 3 (50 mg/kg, 0.4 ml) and group 5 (50 mg/kg, 0.8 ml)], ms injection into the muscle cavity in the vicinity of the sciatic nerve [group 2 (50 mg/kg, 0.4 ml) and group 4 (50 mg/kg, 0.8 ml)], normal saline injection into the muscle in the vicinity of the sciatic nerve [group 6a (0.4 ml) and 6b (0.8 ml)], subjected to injury by drilling the entire layer of nerve without injecting any drug, normal saline injection in the sciatic nerve, and control group. nerve and muscle samples were taken 7 days after administrations. tissue sections were stained using a hematoxylin and eosin-luxol® fast blue stain, assessed by a histologist. results: the levels of axonal degeneration of the rats in groups 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6a, and  8 were found to be significantly higher compared to the levels of the rats in the control group (p<0.05). myelin degeneration of the rats in all groups was found to be significantly higher compared to myelin degeneration of the rats in the control group (p<0.05). conclusion: it was observed that ms could lead to injury in the sciatic nerve with a toxic effect due to diffusion.